Propidium Iodide

**Semantic type:** Indicator, Reagent, or Diagnostic Aid|Organic Chemical

**Definition:** A fluorescent nucleic acid dye which binds only to double-stranded nucleic acids. It has a molecular weight of 668.4, an absorbance maximum of 535nm, and an emission maximum of 617 nm. It is commonly used to determine the DNA content of a cell or to discriminate viable from non-viable cells.

**Synonyms:** - PROPIDIUM IODIDE